Five members of ageing gang sentenced to up to seven years each, while sixth
defendant spared prison, for 'sophisticated' safety deposit box break-in

Five men involved in the £14 million Hatton Garden jewellery raid have been jailed for up to seven years, while a sixth was given a suspended sentence, as the judge described the effects of the raid as "unprecedented".

The ageing gang, with a combined age of 448, carried out the "sophisticated" and meticulously planned break-in over the Easter weekend last year.

Less than a year after the audacious raid, six of the seven men convicted in connection with the burglary were sentenced at Woolwich Crown Court on Wednesday afternoon.

Collins, Jones and Perkins were each given a seven-year prison term. Jones and Perkins said "Thank you" to the judge as they sat down.

The hole in the Hatton Garden safe wall and (top row left to right) John Collins, and Carl Wood (Middle row left - right) Daniel Jones and Terry Perkins, (bottom row left to right) , William Lincoln and Hugh Doyle who are due to be sentenced today at Woolwich Crown Court Photo: PA

Carl Wood, 59, and 60-year-old William Lincoln, of Bethnal Green, east London, were found guilty of the same offence and one count of and conspiracy to conceal, convert or transfer criminal property, after trial.

Lincoln was also given a seven-year sentence, and Wood was jailed for six years.

Plumber Hugh Doyle, was found guilty of concealing, converting or transferring criminal property between January 1 and May 19 last year.He was jailed for 21 months, suspended for two years.

Outside court, Doyle told the Telegraph: "I'm happy and relieved, I just need to catch my breath. I feel sorry for the victims. Now I'm going to focus on my business and my family."

Reader, of Dartford, Kent, was also due to be sentenced. However, after falling ill in Belmarsh prison and suffering a second stroke, he was not well enough to attend court and will instead be sentenced later.

Jewels and other valuables worth millions of pounds were stolen in the Hatton Garden raid (Carl Court/Hatton Garden Properties/Getty)

Passing sentence, Judge Christopher Kinch QC, said: "The burglary of the Hatton Garden Safe Deposit vault in April 2015 has been labelled by many - including some defendants and advocates in this case - as the biggest burglary in English legal history.

"Whether that assertion is capable of proof, I do not know. However, it is clear that the burglary at the heart of this case stands in a class of its own in the scale of the ambition, the detail of the planning, the level of preparation and the organisation of the team carrying it out, and in terms of the value of the property stolen."

John 'Kenny' Collins, 75, of Islington, north London: jailed for seven years

Branding him a ringleader, the judge told John Kenneth Collins: "You were already 74 years old at the time of the burglary. You were a ringleader and a lookout during the burglary both nights.

"You drove the van there and back. You have a long list of previous convictions dating back to the 1950s and 60s. Until now, this century has been uneventful.

"You are now 75 years old and like most of your co-defendants you are coping with a number of illnesses. You are also dealing with a deal of family sadness.

"You pleaded guilty. On count one, I take the starting point of 10 years and deduct 30 per cent for your early plea. I sentence you to seven years in prison."

Daniel Jones, 61, of Enfield, north London: jailed for seven years

Describing how he "embraced careful need for preparation", the judge told Daniel Jones: "You were instrumental to opening the vault. You clearly embraced the careful need for preparation.

"You too have a long list of previous convictions. You have no convictions in this century. Your guilty plea was entered in the magistrates court and you offered to take the police to where some of the jewellery was buried.

"But the episode tends to suggest you were pragmatic in your approach as more of the stash was later found.

"I adopt the same starting point and the same deduction. You are sentenced to seven years."

Terry Perkins, 67, of Enfield: jailed for seven years

Terry Perkins Photo: PA

Carl Wood, 59, of Cheshunt, Hertfordshire: jailed for six years

Describing him as being "motivated by an instinct for self-preservation", Judge Kinch told Wood: "Carl Wood, you had a background in running and keeping fit, but I am aware you had been suffering with Crohn's Disease.

You were involved but you were not a ringleader. You were motivated by an instinct for self-preservation.

"In the result, you did not share in the successful completion of the burglary and were spoken about scornfully by the others. Your withdrawal cannot lessen your guilt but I consider that it will enable me to alter the sentence. The sentence on count one will be six years."

Carl Wood

William Lincoln, 60, of Bethnal Green, east London: jailed for seven years

Said to have been "very close to one of the principle organisers", Judge Kinch told Lincoln: "You are not able to have a deduction on your sentence.

"Although not a ringleader, you were very close to one of the principle organisers. The sentence on count one will be 7 years. Count two will be seven years concurrently."

William Lincoln

Hugh Doyle, 48, of Enfield: suspended prison sentence

Hugh Doyle has been jailed for 21 months, suspended for two years, at Woolwich Crown Court for his involvement in the £14 million Hatton Garden jewellery raid.

Hugh Doyle received a prison sentence of 21 months - suspended for two years - for his "limited role".

The judge told him: "You must be sentenced for a money laundering conviction. I'm satisfied you would have been aware that John Collins and the others only had interest in that of very expensive property.

"Only a custodial sentence is suitable for your offence. Yours was a limited role and you were acquitted for the wider role in the burglary. You do have previous convictions but since your release you have applied yourself and set up a business in Enfield.

"I have been impressed by the personal and business references written in your name. Because of the limited role you performed I've concluded that I can suspend a sentence of imprisonment. It will be 21 months suspended for two years."

Hugh Doyle, pictured outside Woolwich Crown Court

A statement later released on behalf of Doyle read: "We are delighted that the sentence imposed today by the court will enable Mr Doyle to focus on his family and on his business.

"We have lodged an application for permission to appeal against his conviction which will be considered in due course."

The maximum sentence for burglary at a non-dwelling property is ten years and those who plead guilty ought to have a third knocked off their sentence.

But the prosecution had asked the judge to ignore the sentencing guidelines and impose a longer sentence as two-thirds of the proceeds of the burglary remains outstanding.

Starting his sentencing on Wednesday afternoon, Judge Christopher Kinch QC said: "I identify this case as involving greater harm than in the guidelines.

"The loss is on an unprecedented scale. The safety deposit box company went into administration and its reputation was never the same again.

"Some of the smaller jewellers were keeping gold for their retirement. This is among the worst offences of its type. On count one, I'm satisfied that nothing but the maximum of the sentencing guidelines would be appropriate."

Raiders ransacked 73 boxes at Hatton Garden Safety Deposit after using a drill to bore a hole into the vault wall (Carl Court/Hatton Garden Properties/Getty)

Brian Reader, 77, who was one of the ringleaders of the gang, had been due to be sentenced alongside the others, but his hearing has been postponed due to ill health.

One of the gang members, dubbed Basil, who played a key role in the raid, has also not been apprehended.

The gang members have claimed Basil was the real architect behind the burglary, but have refused to identify him.

Detective Superintendent Craig Turner, head of the Met's Flying Squad, said: “This was an audacious burglary in the heart of London's diamond district.

"The individuals responsible clearly thought they had got away with it. But thanks to meticulous and dogged detective work, they hadn't.

"My officers trawled CCTV from hundreds of cameras, piecing together the gang’s movements over the Bank Holiday weekend and tracing the white Mercedes which was a critical lead.

"The surveillance operation which followed linked each of the men to the gang and the crime, culminating in the arrest phase where four of them were caught red-handed with the stolen property.”

Only a third of property recovered so far

Mr Turner added: “To date we have recovered just under a third of the property and much of it has already been returned to the victims. We have also been responsible for putting all but one of the suspects behind bars.

"There will be some out there who have sympathy for these men believing this crime to be a bold heist where no one got hurt. The truth is these men were career criminals who didn't give a moments thought for the people they were stealing from.

"For many of the victims these safety deposit boxes represented their livelihood. They put their most valuable property into the vault to keep safe during the bank holiday weekend only to see it cruelly snatched away."

£20k reward for conviction of mystery 'Basil'

Making an appeal for the only member of the gang who remains outstanding, Mr Turner said: “The individual known as 'Basil' remains unknown. We believe he let the group in and possibly disarmed the alarm.

“Basil is still wanted in connection with the burglary and we would ask anyone who has information as to the identity of 'Basil' or the whereabouts of the outstanding jewellery to contact police.

"We are offering a reward of up to £20,000 for information leading to his arrest and conviction and the recovery of the outstanding property.”

Empty deposit boxes in the vault

Raiders drilled through the vault wall to access security boxes

The entrance to the Hatton Garden vault

Barristers for Perkins and Jones earlier claimed that Basil - the mysterious redheaded raider who has never been caught - had been the “architect of the audacious enterprise”, while they were merely the “men on the ground”.

Mr Rowlands said that while Perkins accepted being a ringleader, he was not the “architect” of the plot.

He told Judge Kinch: “He accepts he was an enthusiastic member of the team, but not someone who might be described as an architect of this audacious enterprise.

“Basil had the keys to the building. Basil was the man who was able to educate the other conspirators of the workings of Hatton Garden: where the alarms were, what the difficulties were, how best to go about it and so on.”

His defence barrister, James Scobie, told the judge Reader had sight and hearing problems, was suffering from prostate cancer, had recently had a stroke in prison and was undergoing biopsy tests on a “mass on his face”